"There are no mistakes anywhere, at any time. What appears to be wrong is simply your own false imagination." ~Robert Adams

Sometimes the river of life can take us by surprise.  We can get moving sooooo rapidly downstream that our week becomes this wild and fierce bumpy ride.  Our mind can become caught in the achievment of goals, attached to our personal agenda, social circumstances, intimate relationships, emotions, financial situations, long term goals and daily desires. We can even feel we are drowning everyday in the momentum of life's river. These goals and obstacles can capture us and entertain us to such a deep degree that we forget we can just pull the boat over and take a walk in the warm sand on the beach. Sometimes it can seem that we are unable to stop the boat in this crazy adventure called life, yet the truth is we can pull over at any time. We always have the option to take a deep breath and relax ever so sweetly into the cozy nest within our precious heart and soul.

When you slow down, you can take a tiny step back from your mind and catch a glimpse of the bigger picture of your life.  You can understand the most important thing that you need to know, otherwise you are still running in the rat race.  With slowing down, an awareness gets ignited, and you just might see that there are no real coincidents or accidents in your life.  You may see nothing is 100% by chance or completely destined by fate.  You may contempate how the mind tries to attach itself to ideas, beliefs and concepts and form a tighter grip on reality to gain some sense of security.

Whenever our mind realizes that there are only certain degrees of chance and destiny, and nothing is 100% certain in this world (except for uncertainty) it tends to relax and loosen its grip on us. The loosening of the mind is caused by the light of pure awareness which is something that is available to us at anytime.  The Universe is always giving us the opportunity to humbly hold onto the steering wheel of our lives, and with this source of pure awareness can we redirect it towards what our heart most desires.

It can easily happen to the most conscious advanced beings on this planet, that suddenly they realize how deeply unaware and unconscious they actually are.  Perhaps they lose their keys, stub their toe, or something doesn't go exactly how they thought it should.  Suddenly a flash of awareness ignites, and the mind wakes up to realize how everything was flying on "automatic pilot".  This instant awakening effect is a gift given to every human being no matter how conscious or unconscious they are.  

Every mind has a built-in hypnosis factory inside it, which is continuously creating new fabrications to lay across and over the old ones.  It's perpetually generating new ideas to believe in, and as long as we are unconsciously believing in the thoughts the mind is thinking, it means the mind is in charge and we are slaves to its patterns and programming.  By slowing down we can step out of this hypnosis factory and become conscious enough of the mind to see the creative illusions and delusions it's generating.  Through this slowing movement we can awaken from the dream and discover the immense God force that is breathing at our very core.

One of the most effective and easiest ways to increase awareness, is learning what works for you in learning how to slow down. Noticing what tends to pull at you, causing you to break your agreement with yourself to enjoy a life that is relaxed and at ease. In order to arrive in this great inward haven, we must become more aware of what we are doing and why we are doing it.  It is only through this awareness that we can truly surrender our addiction to being busy.  We can relax about our endless desire to arriving somewhere better, trying to reach some amazing goal, and multitasking our way through our entire life.  

It is within this divinely rooted awareness that we discover that the essence is already at ease. We can relax deeper, be more curious, and explore each new life experience through a body that is willing to be more open, welcoming and totally relaxed at the core.  The shift to slowing our pace down is what empowers us with a conscious ability to be free!  It can remove the illusion that we are separate beings who are unlovable, unworthy, struggling through life and all alone on this journey.  By slowing down we can instantly drop into a state of pure presence, where awareness of what is can become rooted in the body.  We can finally relax and have a much larger perception of our world, seeing reality from a new angle and the opportunity in every situation.  By slowing life down we gain the natural ability to think more clearly, have more energy, and understand what will truly serve our soul. 

"My understanding is that whatsoever is given to you is precious. If it was not so, existence would not have given it to you." ~Osho

Our breath is the most powerful gift we have been given.  It is our greatest tool for increasing consciousness and helping our minds to slow down.  It is always with you, flowing through you and available to take you deeper into the heart of your soul at anytime. Whenever we rush through any experience in life, you can see there is a part who is freaking out emotionally and not allowing our body to breathe deeply.  Remember, rushing is an act of violence against the soul.  Anytime you are rushing through a conversation, a meal, around money, or a plane flight, ask yourself this little question, "What is my soul really wanting to accomplish here?"  You might see that the ego is trying to push the river faster, so that you'll get "more" out of life.  Yet, the truth is you will actually get more out of life not by forcing it, but by allowing it to unfold in a relaxed way.  You can feel deeply creative, empowered and highly conscious by relaxing into your body and simply opening yourself into each new life experience.  Isn't the point of your life to become more conscious?  Its certainly not to become more unconscious.

When you take enough time to sit back and watch your mind, you will notice how often it tends rush and push through life's experiences.  Whatever life is offering you is a gift.  If you open the gift too quickly you aren't really enjoying it with full gratitude.  You can rush through life to the point of actually missing out on all of it.  There will never come an end to the infinite series of goals and desires to accomplish.  The question to ask yourself is, "How juicy was my life along the way?"

The point is to be relaxed, open, surrendered and this all happens through slowing down.  The entire Universe is more available for you to explore when you are more relaxed, soft and available to receive it.  In every moment we have the option to expand and feel into the sensations given from our breath.  Doing this we naturally become more receptive to life and capable of moving deeper inside ourselves.  With a little practice diving into the breath, we can release of your most unconscious addictions to rushing.  Freedom is found within each exhalation you have.  You can touch something that may feel like the Heart of God which always abides in your deepest relaxation.   

Anybody who wants to master their life must first master their mind, and to master the mind you must first master your breath.  There is no enlightened being who has not mastered their breath on some level. The breath and mind are deeply connected.  When the mind is racing off to experience the next new fantastic fabrication, it never actually gives you the chance to cherish the last one.  It's only the enlightened being who lives on such a conscious path that he/she can completely slow everything down and live from this fresh new conscious space. 

Everything that a master does is conscious.  They simply act and behave more slowly because they are always expanding into their consciousness in each moment.  They are soooo deeply engaged in exploring consciousness and are being penetrated by it's light, that the body naturally starts eating slowly, walking slowly, talking slowly and working slowly.  This snail pace lifestyle is what catapults the mind into utter freedom, and allows the mind the time to experience it.  Sure, the snails pace may seem quite boring to one living in the rat race, yet it truly is the master who won't experience burnout and is enjoying their connection to God's consciousness to the extreme.

Every being who has mastered life on has found plenty of time to feel the sun caressing their face, walk barefoot on the grass, taste the delicious food they are chewing, and feel the wind of God's hands combing through their hair.  They are living in perpetual gratitude for existence, feeling the breath of life flowing through them and in reverence for this precious moment they are getting to experience.  Their mind has given up on getting somewhere else that is better.  They find that even more amazing things begin to manifest when they actually create space to enjoy this moment of life, no matter how boring it may seem. 

If you ever decide to practice slowing your life down, you might find that your body is holding onto your breath.  There seems to be this subtle form of fear running the show under the surface, which tends to try and control each inhalation and exhalation.  When you make the decision to let go of life, and relax the fearful control of the mind, you've taken the first step towards freedom.   Sure, you will feel as if you're stepping off a cliff into the dark vast unknown, yet the light of awareness will always be there as your divine guide along the way.  As often as you can, simply relax into the light of your own awareness.  This light becomes brighter by the loving oxygenating air from your breath.  In this pure light awareness you will realize how ridiculous it is to waste another day in fear.  The lightness takes over everything, showing you just how amazing, loving, and brilliant you actually are.

 The brilliant light of awareness inside us is profound, as it gives us the ability to be free from any thought the mind throws our way.  Awareness contains everything we need to pierce through the deepest unconscious habits of the mind.  With just a few minutes in pure awareness, old unconscious habits tend to burn out and transform into new self loving, self healing, abundant feelings of feeling beautiful inside.  A mind that is penetrated by awareness contains the light to see through any darkness.  It is how we find the new life path we wish to follow.  Without this awareness we are all living in the dark. The darkness inside us is unfathomably deep, yet with the light of a candle flame, the secrets of our most hidden treasures can be uncovered inside. It is only through this speck and glimmer of consciousness that our answers are found, and life's deepest mysteries are revealed.  

"Your Inner Being is always guiding you...so don't be concerned that you may make a fatal choice, because there aren't any of those. You are always finding your balance. It's a never ending process’’ ~ Abraham-Hicks

I find that the process to discover the soul purpose of life is a lot like the water that trickles down in a valley of mountains. It naturally is seeking the lowest potential ground, as gravity will do everything it can to pull it down.  Life naturally tends to move us towards our deepest desires and dreams, even whether we want it to or not.  The crystal clarity of what your life purpose and soul mission truly is about, is always found at the greatest depth and source stillness inside. When the water has moved through the mountain, down the stream, into the ocean and relaxed at the bottom of the sea, then and only then can it know the amazing and vast purpose of your being.  Finding your greatest depth is something that happens naturally, and is an occurrence which requires no conscious effort on your part. You simply live your life, relax about everything, and let life take you to the deepest depth.  Being patient you will see in time, your life purpose will naturally come to you. 

It simply happens without any efforting on your part.  You can be in the utmost lazy state and the total fulfillment of your life can find you.  When you simply slow down and give up the struggling habit to get somewhere, you can soften into this enlightening experience. The reason you may not be experiencing the amazing joy available in this ordinary moment, is because the quick paced mind is working too fast to catch it. Like the story of the tortoise and the hare, the mind is sooooo quick, racing and running in circles and ends up burning out and missing the entire event in the end. It's the pace of the steady tortoise who always wins the race because he enjoyed the journey.  The tortoise had the time to develop the deepest love, most exquisite awareness and profound patience along the way.